Blacks Rally To Prevent A Repeat Of Voting Fiasco

Having made inroads in black turnout in 2000 election, a coalition of civil rights activists have shifted their focus to educating voters so they are prepared for any challenges at the polls in 2002.

At a Wednesday night's town hall meeting, more than 800 people packed the pews and the aisles at Mt. Hermon AME Church in Fort Lauderdale with a united goal in mind -- ensuring that black voters' ballots count this time around. Elected officials and grass-roots organizers explained that something must be done to avoid a repeat of the 2000 presidential election fiasco.

The meeting is the first of three planned in an effort to mobilize and educate black voters to ensure their voting rights will be upheld.

"What we learned from the last presidential election is Election Day happens before Election Day,'' said state Rep. Chris Smith, D-Fort Lauderdale. Smith was referring to voting lists discrepancies that unfairly disqualified some at the polls and faulty voting equipment that was set up in many predominantly minority precincts.

Black precincts in Florida had more than three times as many rejected ballots as predominantly white precincts in the 2000 presidential election. There were 175,000 disenfranchised voters, according to a media study.

Civil rights activists charged that votes cast by blacks statewide were far more likely to be disqualified than those cast by whites. That pattern held true in South Florida.

Tony Hill, of Jacksonville, who is running for the state Senate, said more than 900,000 black voters turned out for the vote in 2000 fueled by Gov. Jeb Bush's elimination of affirmative action.

"We have enough issues to change the make up of Tallahassee,'' said Hill, a member of the national board of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists.

Delisa Saunders, a member of the People For the American Way Foundation, said her Civic Participation Program would recruit people to serve as watchdogs at the polls. Among their jobs would be to educate others on their voting rights, meet with election officials before Election Day to identify precinct locations and teach blacks how to use voting equipment.

"We must remain vigilant,'' Saunders insisted. "We need election protection to make sure our people know their rights. We have to have lawyers and activists (at the polls) to enforce rights.''

Todd Cox of the NAACP's Legal Defense Fund said voting rights laws are on the books and it is incumbent on the federal government to make sure those laws are enforced.

"Elections are local, but the feds can't turn a blind eye,'' Cox said. "But we should have a physical presence at the polls and be prepared to take action and document. Too often we have relied on political parties. We must rely on ourselves, our own institutions and take action.''

To that end, U.S. Rep. Alcee Hastings drew a standing ovation when he chastised the black members of the audience for waiting for white philanthropists to fund voter education and other projects that would benefit black Floridians.

"We have to fund it,'' he said, his voice heating up like a Baptist minister. "We can't wait for white folks or foundations. If we don't [fund it], we will get what we get.''

Hastings also urged black constituents to call their elected officials to lobby them about legislation and urge election reform that includes bilingual ballots, an end purging voter roles and standard uniform election procedures across the country.

Cox said a lawsuit filed by the defense fund, which is expected to be heard in August, could help clear up the purging issue and the substandard equipment concerns.

Sharon Pacheco, director of the People for American Way's Arrive with Five campaign, said that the black community should mobilize itself and seek education about voting rights and the candidates who are running.

"We can't just rely on leadership,'' she said. "We can't just rely on organizations. We have to rely on us to be the people police. We need thousands of citizens to be concerned about your democracy.

"If the system doesn't get it right,'' she said, "we're going to get it right for them.''

Gregory Lewis can be reached at glewis@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4203.